E tū welcomes Joint Working Group principles on pay equity

E tū welcomes Joint Working Group principles on pay equity

E tū, the union which led the equal pay litigation in the aged care sector, says it will pursue equal pay for women, using the newly agreed Joint Working Group’s principles on pay equity.

The Joint Working Group was set up to consider pay equity principles in the wake of the historic court case taken by E tū and Kristine Bartlett against Terranova Rest Home.

Kristine’s case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, argued rest home workers were underpaid because they were mostly women, and comparable men’s work would be paid more.

The Working Group comprising unions, Business New Zealand and the States Services Commission has agreed pay equity claims should mainly be settled through wage bargaining, which properly considers pay equity arguments.

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It also recommends a lower barrier for stalled claims to go before the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court.

E tū Assistant National Secretary John Ryall says the principles have opened up a pathway for hundreds of thousands of women to gain pay rates free of historic gender bias – including Kristine Bartlett.

He says in her case, “if the case is not resolved, we will be approaching the Employment Court to set Kristine’s pay rate, based on the agreed principles.”

He says E tū represents workers in female predominant workforces such as cleaning, catering, laundries and hospitality, who are all seeking a process to implement equal pay.

A second Working Group has been negotiating a suitable pay rate for Kristine Bartlett, which could affect equal pay claims for 50,000 care and support workers.

John Ryall says the Government has still not resolved this claim, with negotiations due to be completed by 31 March 2016.

ENDS

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